Problems In America: Feeling small.

With huge cities like New York and Los Angeles it’s hard to feel like you make much of a presence. Frankly, this is a little (actually a lot depressing) and the only way to ignore it is to focus on what you do impact in this life. You impact your family, friends, coworkers, and those you randomly speak to on the street. You make a difference in their lives, even if just for a second, and that is a beautiful, powerful thing. When you feel down and depressed, overwhelmed and under rested, start complimenting people. Think of something nice to say and say it, in that moment you meant everything to that person and when those moments add up you really did change the world.

Problems In America: Subways.

Have you ever stopped and thought how gross the handle that you are clinging to for dear life must be? Yeah it’s disgusting on the off chance you want to know. Subways are something I just couldn’t get over on my last trip to New York City. Also, while we are on the subject can we talk about how CREEPY they are? Maybe it’s because I grew up in a small town in Arkansas, maybe it’s my Netflix obsession, or maybe it’s all the deaths that happen in subways. Whenever you travel to the city and decide to pick this as your means of travel just remember to bring some hand sanitizer and be extra cautious of weirdos.

Problems In America: Juggling it all

I’m writing this blog post from my post it note covered mac next to my five pound planner (a.k.a the keeper of my sanity). Even with my high end erin condren planner and all my apple products I feel overwhelmed. I thought saving up for a nice laptop and budgeting for a planner with awesome reviews would help with this but i’m still dependent on a stress ball. It seems that our society is obsessed with time, we really do have such an unhealthy relationship with it. We very rarely enjoy a moment because we are always worried about what’s next and what we need to get done. It’s hard to break this cycle when we were all born into it.

Problems In America: Waiting for the ball to drop

It’s freezing cold and you can not feel your feet and you have 4 more hours to go. Waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square is a special sort of torture. You are so hopeful waiting for the big moment, and scared to death you’ll have to call it quits because you have had to pee the past two hours. I traveled from Dover, Ar to the Big Apple for this event and had so many mixed feelings about it. I only went because I am a firm believer in bucket lists and since that was on mine I had to tackle it. In retrospect would I go back? Heck no. Was it an experience I value you will never forget? Most definitely.

Problems In America: Too much food

This picture is debuting my Philly Cheese Steak I bought when I went to Philly last christmas. Was it good? ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS, but what’s up with America’s portion issue? “Left overs” shouldn’t be an issue. With so many people going hungry in the world (even within our own country) why can’t we take down how much we consume? If we had adequate portions i’m sure it would help with our obesity and heart disease issues here in the states. How many times have you taken leftovers home and not eaten them? I can think of several times i’ve done this and it doesn’t even make sense. Let’s just take what we need.

Problems In America: Patience

There are so many various definitions for patience but my own personal definition is having the ability to wait for something with grace and without bitterness or negativity. I took this picture when my cousin and I were waiting for a fellow bridesmaid to come home from work so we could head to Kansas City to celebrate my soon to be sister-in-law. Did we necessarily care why she was running late? No. Of course she had a good reason, but all we could think about was how hot we were and how badly we needed to charge our phones. I think we all need to take a deep breath, forget our societies obsession with time, and remember we are not in a hurry. I don’t want to get to the end and realize my life was one big hurry do you?

Problems In America: Living for the selfie

We’ve reached a sad point in our society; we are living for the selfie. Executives selfies can be linked with narcissism, but could we actually be living for the photo instead of capturing the moment to savor? The difference may be vague but it is important. If you are so happy in a moment you want to take a picture so you can always have a door to travel back to that moment you are good. However, if you only volunteer certain places, eat certain foods, and wear certain clothes so they can be featured on you Instagram page you are not living your life right. Instead of living for ourSELFIE lets live for others.

Problems In America: Nobody wants to fluff the tree

It’s the job everyone hates and the step everyone wants to skip and if you are the youngest sibling you most likely get stuck with it. Nobody wants to fluff the tree but it’s something that has to be done. We can’t leave the tree all flat  and squished like some grinch now can we? If you hit the web there are tons of tips and tricks for fast and efficient fluffing but what I find to be the most useful (besides paying off your older brother) is to put on some christmas music, and grab a pair of gloves to prevent poking, and just get it over with.

Problems In America: The ugly Christmas sweater

Over recent year the ugly christmas sweater has reached maximum popularity. She may not be the cutest but she isn’t without her charms. When she enters various holiday parties she is sure to draw a laugh and ease awkward tension; do not confuse this with grace however. Ugly Christmas sweater doesn’t have grace, there’s always a little something about her that doesn’t add up that makes her fall a little short of “grace”. That may be a few to many jingle bells, an itchy element, or a random pug in a sweater. Don’t throw her the cold shoulder though, there is a certain level of familiarity she brings that pairs so well with her cheesiness.

Problems In America: The Obsession With Heels

I don’t really know who decided heels were cute or why we as women decided to let them stay but it’s time for them to leave. Breaking down your arches and causing foot/back pain shouldn’t be fashionable; ever heard of foot binding? Stop messing with ladies’ feet. Not only are heels ridiculously uncomfortable they can cause long term effects and can cost insane amounts of money. What makes the situation even worse is if you choose to not wear them society dubs you “frumpy”, “without class”, and “not put together”. Man, being a lady sure is fun and heels are the cheery on top.